Falling branch kills woman at Kew Gardens

Published on 25/09/2012 04:27

A woman was killed after she was hit by a tree branch in high winds at London’s Kew Gardens.

The woman, a New Zealander in her 30s, was visiting the Gardens with friends when she was hit by the falling branch amid heavy winds and rain at 2pm on Sunday. Paramedics were unable to save her.

A Gardens spokeswoman said: “The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning predicting heavy rain and winds gusting 50 to 55mph. As a precaution, Kew Gardens will not be open to the public today. ”

Witness Gary Baker, 51, was at Kew when he heard the branch fall with a sound like “a shotgun”.

He said: “She looked in a bad way. She was lying face down. There was blood coming out of her mouth and I couldn’t find a pulse. I got her in the recovery position and another man started giving her CPR. The ambulance control centre was giving us instructions over the phone.

“We kept going for a very long time. One of the Kew staff turned up with a defibrillator and tried to restart her heart.”

MARGARET NEIGHBOUR